Casino Card Betting Game with Jackpot Features

ABSTRACT

The game is played on a gaming table with special layouts for each player, wherein players are placing wagers on 1, 2, 3 . . . , up to 13 different kinds of cards in their layouts, and they win or loose depending of how their bets match 7 cards dealt to them by the dealer. There is a jackpot feature in the game where players can raise the winning potential up to 1000 times of their total bet. The odds of winning for players are much higher then in regular lotteries, creating a lot of fun in a winning atmosphere and generating repeat business.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a casino card betting game adoptable forvirtual electronic machine and internet play. The game has a Lotterytype version with Jackpot Features.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most popular games played in casinos these days is Blackjack.The main reason for this is that the odds of winning for the players arevery high. House edge in Blackjack is less than 1%. In comparison, thegame of Keno has 25% house advantage.

As good as Blackjack is, it has a number of negative features. For onething the decision of one player can have negative effect on the resultsof other players causing trouble among players at the table. Anotherdrawback of Blackjack is that a skilful player with high card countingability can actually have mathematical advantage of more than 1% overthe house, which, of course is not acceptable for the business. For thisreason casinos are forced to take counter measures, like increasing thenumber of card decks and frequency of shuffling, applying pressure oncard counters up to barring of the highest winning players from thecasino. These counter measures present a public relations problem forthe casinos, creating a perception that casinos welcome only losers.

The casino industry needs a game of multiple choice (like Blackjack)based on players knowledge and ability, with high odds to win (likeBlackjack), but without disadvantages of Blackjack, where players caninfluence the game of each other, and some players can turn mathematicalodds in their favor, requiring artificial defensive measures from thecasinos.

The game should create a festive win-win atmosphere of having fun,feeling lucky, and generating big crowds and repeat business.

It is an object of present invention to address the mentioned aboveproblems and create such a game of excitement and fun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

-   -   The game of present invention belongs to the category of so        called “Banking Games” where all players play against the house        and not against each other. The game is played with one standard        deck of 52 playing cards. No face value is assigned to cards.        The game includes dealer and at least one player.    -   Maximum number of players at a table is five.    -   The table has five special layouts, one for each player        (Attachment 2).    -   The players place wagers on 1, 2, 3, up to 13 kinds of cards in        their layouts.

They may bet any but the same amount on each position according to theposted table minimum/maximum.

The dealer starts dealing 7 cards to each player, one at a time. The farleft player is dealt first. All 7 cards are placed in front of theplayer face down. Then the cards are opened one by one. If the cardmatches the kind of the bet the player is paid the amount of the bet andthe chips are removed from the table and go to the player. If there isno match the card is placed aside and next card is opened. The procedurecontinues with the same player until all 7 cards are revealed. Allunmatched bets are taken by the house. The dealer deals the next 7 cardsto the next player to the right until all players are served The dealerstarts all over again from shuffling.

The game seems very easy to win. If a player places only one wager andis dealt 7 cards it looks very-very likely to have a match in 7attempts. But calculations show that the mathematical odds of winningfor the player are 45%. These are very high odds in comparison with anylottery (and people love lotteries). The players will win frequently. Itwill create a festive atmosphere and draw big crowds to the game and tothe casino.

Calculations also show that casino can increase the necessary built-inhouse advantage by slightly changing the rules. Changing the amount ofcards dealt to players from 7 to 6 will raise the house edge to 10%. Ifthe number is changed to 8 the odds for the house to win will be only50.2% (similar to the single deck Blackjack).

There is a so called “Jackpot Feature” in the game.

In addition to regular payouts players hit a jackpot if there is acomplete match (5 of 5, 6 of 6 or 7 of 7) of cards in their bet to thecards dealt. The proposed payouts are as follows:

Odds of winning Proposed Award in: Match For the players Times of Totalbet 5 of 5 1 in 50 5 6 of 6 1 in 125 10 7 of 7 1 in 275 25

Instead of “regular payout equal the bet” players will receive a“jackpot payout” of 5, 10 or 25 times of their total bet accordingly.

Finally, there is a “Progressive Jackpot” version where players goexclusively for the Jackpot. They may place bets on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7cards. If there is a total match Players win (and win Big), if not—theyloose. The proposed payouts follow:

Odds of winning Proposed Award in: Match For the players Times of Totalbet 2 of 2 1 in 5 2 3 of 3 1 in 10 3 4 of 4 1 in 25 5 5 of 5 1 in 50 106 of 6 1 in 125 25 7 of 7 1 in 275 75 7 of 7 all same suit 1 in 12500001000

This 1000 times of total bet payout is called “Grand Jackpot”.

It happens when all 7 cards dealt to the player are of the same suit andmatch the player's 7 cards bet. The odds of this happening are 1 in1,250,000

We believe that the “jackpot” feature of the Game will increase the GameSpeed to around 750 hands per hour and multiply the excitement ofplayers.

Players can use their skills and experience by making a choice of how toplay the coming next game:

-   -   The number of wagers they place (from 1 to 13)    -   Whether they want to take advantage of the Jackpot Features (in        this case they must place from 5 to 7 bets at a time).    -   Whether they want to play a “Progressive Jackpot” version with        lower winning probability, but with higher payouts, up to 1000        times of their total wager.

Lottery lovers will have a chance to have a drawing every few minuteswith relatively high (much higher than in any Lottery or Toto) odds towin. Players can use all different existing systems and strategies ofhow to win the Lottery, or how to pick winning numbers, or how to win ingeneral.

Finally, about mathematical foundation of the game:

B—is the probability of winning by the houseA—is the number of different combinations to pull 7 cards out of 52.C—is the number of winning combinations for the house.

In order to win for the house not a single card dealt by the dealershould match the kind chosen by the player for his bit. This is equal toa number of different combinations of 7 from the total of 48 (52 minus 4of a kind chosen by the player for his bid)

We are using a well known formula for calculating a COMBINATION—numberof ways of picking “k” (herein 7) unordered elements from the total of“n” (herein 52 or 48) possibilities.

A=Cn,k(52,7)=52×51×50×49×48×47×46 C=Cn,k(48,7)=48×47×46×45×44×43×42

B=C/A=0,550355 (or 55% in favor of the house)

Six cards bring this advantage to 60%, 8 cards reduces advantage to50.2%, 9 cards gives advantage to the player at 54.4%. All this is inthe hands of the Casino to make a determination and decide. Of coursethey will not use the 9 cards version.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1—shows the gaming table layout,

FIG. 2—is the player's layout,

FIG. 3—is an enlarged view of another version of the player's layout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The casino card betting game of the invention is played on a tablesimilar to one used for playing Blackjack. The top of the table iscovered with a layer of felt or other suitable soft material. The table(FIG. 1) has a straight side at which the dealer stands and a curvedside where the players sit. Provided mid-way along the straight side isa chips rack in which the dealer keeps betting chips of different value.There is an adapter to store paper money used by players to buy chips.

There is also a shoe used by the dealer to deal the cards out to eachplayer, one by one, and five cup holders 4 for players.

Provided on the table cover along the curved side are five bettingarches 1 used by players to place bets. Each player will have thirteenplaces 2 to place bets and one spot 3 to indicate the players' intentionto use the Progressive Jackpot version of the game.

Each player's layout (FIG. 2) has images 2 of thirteen kinds of cards.The images are placed starting from 2 on the far bottom left, goingright are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 at the down curve, further continuing 9, 10,J, Q, K, and finally Ace at the far right on the upper curve, thirteenimages in total. Each image has a special circle 1 to place bets(chips). The casino card betting game is provided with one deck of 52cards consisting of 13 different kinds, 4 suits each. Prior to playdealer shuffles the deck, gives the first player from the left a chanceto cut and change the order of the cards. The deck is placed in theshoe. The players make their bets by placing chips of the same monetarydenomination on one or more kinds of cards. Maximum number of bets is13. The dealer starts dealing 7 cards to each player, one at a time. Thefar left player is dealt first. All 7 cards are placed in front of theplayer face down. Then the cards are opened one by one. If the cardmatches the kind of the bet the player is paid the amount of the bet and2 chips are removed from the table and go to the player. If there is nomatch the card is placed aside and next card is opened. The procedurecontinues with the same player until all 7 cards are revealed. Allunmatched bets are taken by the house. The dealer deals the next 7 cardsto the next player to the right until all players are served. The dealerstarts all over again from shuffling.

1. A method for playing a card game having a dealer and at least one player using one standard deck of 52 cards with no face value assigned to cards, where all players play against the house and not against each other, comprising the steps of: players placing their bets in special layouts, the number of bets is from 1 to 13; the dealer then deals seven cards, one at a time to the first player; if the card matches the kind on which the bet is placed the dealer pays the player the amount equal to the bet, all bets which don't find matches among the 7 cards are taken by the house; the next 7 cards are dealt to the next player and the next one until all players are served; the cycle is over, dealer goes shuffling, starts all over again, players place new wagers.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: providing a playing surface, wherein said surface has among other things 5 special layouts, one for each player, said layouts consist of 13 pictures of all kinds of cards starting from 2 at the far bottom left going 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K to Ace at the far upper right; each player makes an initial bid by placing a chip on one of a kind; the player can place 2, 3 . . . , up to 13 chips, one on each kind.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: providing a Jackpot Feature of the game wherein players can get jackpot payouts of 5, 10, or 25 times of their total wager accordingly if there is a complete match (5 of 5, 6 of 6 or 7 of 7) of kinds of cards in their wager to the cards dealt to them by the dealer.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of: to participate in the “jackpot version” players have to place bets on 5, 6 or 7 cards in their layouts at a time.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: providing a Progressive Jackpot version of the game comprising the steps of: players indicating their intention of choosing the this version by placing a chip on the PJ indicator in their layouts; by choosing the version players indicate their intention to go exclusively for the jackpot; in this version the players may place their bets on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 kinds of cards; if there is a total match they win, otherwise they loose, the payouts are 2, 3, 5, 10, 25 and 75 times of their total bet accordingly.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of: providing the opportunity for the players to get paid a Grand Jackpot equal 1000 times of their total wager if in Progressive Jackpot version of the game all 7 cards dealt to the player are of the same suit and match the player's 7 card bet.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: wherein the casino can change the necessary built in house advantage by slightly changing the rules; decreasing the amount of cards dealt to players from 7 to 6 will raise the advantage to 60%; if the number is changed to 8 the odds for the house to win will be only 50.2%; the chances to win for the player will always remain high, much higher than in any lottery or popular Toto; combined with simplicity the game will bring much fun and generate repeat business and profit for the casino.
 8. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of: introduction of the lottery type version of the game provides significant advantages (in comparison with other games) both for the players and the casino like: increasing the game speed up to 750 hands per hour; the players familiar and appreciating Lotto and/or Toto will have a drawing every couple of minutes if they wish so; the odds of winning for the players remain very high (in comparison with Lotto or Toto), the same time the advantages (the odds) for the casino are much higher than with other popular games (blackjack, baccarat, poker, etc.); the excitement and fun of the players combined with profitability of the casino will create a win-win situation for the game.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: the game may be used by internet casinos and adopted for a virtual machine play. 